Tulum

The Mayan ruins at Tulum are 40 miles south-west of Playa del Carmen (around 50 mins by car). What makes them spectacular is that they are right on the coast so the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean Sea present a wonderful backdrop. However, once this initial awe simmered down, the Tulum ruins (after having seen the ruins at Uxmal and Chichén Itzá), were just about okay for me. The most famous structures at Tulum are El Castillo (The Castle), the Temple of the Frescoes, and the Temple of the Descending God. There is also a small beach that you can swim in, but we didn’t swim since our plan was to swim in cenote Azul on the way back to Playa del Carmen.